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Petra’s Rough Diamond Sales Sparkle
Jan 23, 2017 9:00 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds said revenue leapt 48 percent in the first
fiscal half because of steady demand following a stabilization in the rough
market.
Sales grew to $228.5 million during the six months that
ended December 31, the miner reported. Excluding ‘exceptional’ diamonds, revenue
rocketed 51 percent from a year ago to $217.6 million. Total sales by volume jumped
47 percent to 1.9 million carats.
The increase in revenue comes as rough-diamond prices have been
flat during the period on a like-for-like basis, the company said. The miner also
highlighted an improvement in retail demand, citing pockets of growth among retailers
such as Tiffany & Co., Luk Fook and Birks Group during the 2016 holiday season
and noted improved sales in China. Petra expects market conditions to remain
stable in the second half of its fiscal year that ends June 30.
“Signs of stabilization in the rough diamond market are
evident with steady demand across the majority of size ranges,” the company
said.
The one exception to this upwardly trend is that smaller,
lower-value categories of rough diamonds saw demand slip because of the Indian
government’s decision to invalidate INR 500 and INR 1,000 currency notes, the
company explained. This policy, known as demonetization, has sapped liquidity from
the hands of smaller diamond manufacturers.
“We expect this situation to improve in the short term,”
Petra’s chief executive officer Johan Dippenaar said.
Petra’s rough production jumped 24 percent to 2 million
carats due to a higher concentration of diamonds in the ore. Output increased
30 percent at the Cullinan mine in South Africa and climbed 12 percent at the
Williamson project in Tanzania. This outweighed a 6 percent drop at the Finsch deposit
in South Africa due to a planned cut in production. Diamond recovery also slumped
22 percent at Koffiefontein in South Africa.
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Tags:
Johan Dippenaar, petra, Petra Diamonds, Rapaport News, rough, Rough Production
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